Art of treating leatherboard



Nov. 12, 1940. H. w. RICHTER ART OF TREATING LEATHERBOARD 2 Sheets-Shet2 Filed Nov. 18, 1936 NN No ,MNONN www Inyezzor H67 l 7* difyf.

Patented Nov. 12, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ART 0F TREATINGLEATHERBOABD Herman W. Richter, Bridgewater, Mass., assignor to George0. Jenkins Company, Bridgewater, Mass., a corporation oi' MassachusettsApplication November 18, 1936, Serial No. 111,449

15 Claims. (Cl, 92-40) l This is a continuation in part of mycopendirgsapplication Serial No. 77,955, filed May 5, 1 3

This invention relates to the art of treating leatherboard, and hasparticular lreference to methods for producing variegatedcross-sectional color eiects in a sheet of leatherboard.

leatherboard, which is often termed heeling board because of its wideuse in the shoe industry, is a material made from a furnish composedprincipally of leather scrap or Waste by board making processes. Theseprocesses involve disintegration in a beating engine and subsequentformation into sheets or slabs on-a wet machine. The product usuallycontains various amounts of other ingredients such as paper. In thisspecication the term leatherboard will Abe used to denote such a productwithout regard to the proportions of constituents.

Leatherboard, as made prior to Patent No. 1,975,556 issued to me onOctober 2, 1934, was invariably of a rather dark, unattractive hue, dueundoubtedly to the presence of iron-tannate inks produced in the boardduring its fabrication. In the aforesaid patenty I disclose a method foreradicating the iron-tannate inks or "saddening material andliberating-the natural color of the leather nbre by subjectingleatherboard to the action of certain bleaching agents. The customaryway of carrying out the process on a commercial scale is to dip theleatherboard, after it has been deprived of its excess moisture, in adilute aqueous solution of the bleaching agent.

The sheet of leatherboard is left in the bleaching solution until thedesired result is produced. If a uniform light color throughout theboard is desired, the sheet of leatherboard is kept in the solutionuntil penetration is complete. By arresting the action of the chemicalbefore complete penetration takes place, it is possible'to produce asheet of`leatherboard whose outer cross-sectional zones are considerablylighter than its central zone or core, so that a single thickness ofleatherboard appears as if it were made by uniting a. thin sheet oflight colored leather or leatherboard to each side of a thin sheet ofdarker colored leather or untreated leatherboard. The relativethicknesses of the light and dark zones can be controlled within certainlimits. I-Ieel lifts may be dinked out of this material and built upinto heels. After the heel is treated with the us'ual stains anddressings employed in heel nishings, its circumferential surfacepresents an attractive variegated appearance in sharp contrast to theheels of the prior art which were built up from ordinary leatherboard.Furthermore, the heel appears on a casual inspection to have been madeof alternate layers of light and dark colored lifts, whereas as a matterof fact, all the layers were dinked out of the same or similarly treatedmaterial. This procedure, therefore, results in considerable economy inlabor and material, as it is not necessary to prepare more than one kindof material or to sort the lifts during the heel building operation.

Substantially the same variegated effects in heels can be produced bychemically treating the leatherboard so that one or more desiredcrosssectional zones thereof are darkened in shade in respect to othercross-sectional zones thereof instead of being rendered'lighter incolor.

I have discovered that one or more chemicals for producing either adarker or a diierent colored shade can be applied to selected layers ofthe leatherboard as they are being built up on the wet machine. 'Thisrenders it possible to produce directly on the wet machine aleatherboard product which has one or more darkened or colored and oneor more bleached or normal colored cross-sectional zones. As one exampleof a possible product made on a wet machine by said method may bementioned a board having a darkened or colored central core andunchanged outer cross-sectional zones. The chemicals for coloring orbleaching the selected layers of board may be applied by spraying, by atransfer roll or by any other suitable means so that they maybe appliedintermittently. Since spraying is my preferred embodiment I shall referto it in the specication more particularly than to other methods but myinvention is not limited to spraying.

The intermittent treatment of the board as it is being built up on thewet machine is not necessarily'limited to the application of chemicalsadapted to darken or color one or more cross-sectional zones of theboard. Bleaching agents may be applied in the same way. It is therefor?4possible to produce directly on the Wet machine a slab of leatherboardwhich has one or more bleached cross-sectional zones. As one example ofa product made on a wet machine in the foregoing manner may be mentioneda leatherboard product having a bleached central core andunchanged'outer cross-sectional zones.

By combining the two chemical treatments it is possible to build updirectly on the wet machine a leatherboard product having certainbleached cross-sectional zones and certain other darkened or coloredcross-sectional zones. Likewise, it is possible to produce othervariegated eiects such as combinations of bleached, unbleached, coloredand darkened zones.

The application of the bleaching, coloring and/or darkening chemical tothe board as vit is being built up on the wet machine renders itpossible to produce boards of variegated crosssection having thicknessesgreater' than previously considered practical without the use ofadhesives or other securing means. The use of such boards in themanufacture of shoe heels results in considerable economy as obviouslyless lifts are necessary to build a heel of a given height.

One object of this invention is to produce directly on the wet machine aleatherboard product having one or more darkened or coloredcross-sectional zones, the rest of the board being either bleached orthe natural color of leatherboard.

Another object is to produce an integral built up slab or sheet ofleatherboard of variegated cross-sectional hues or colors and having athickness greater than previously considered practical without the useof adhesives or other securing means.

Another object is to produce the product of the foregoing objectswithout the use of expensive materials or chemicals or complicatedapparatus and without injuriously affecting the leather fibre.

Still another object is to provide a relatively simple method andprocedure for carrying out each of the foregoing objects.

In one of its aspects, the method of the invention consists inintermittently spraying leatherboard as it is being built up on the wetmachine with a chemical or chemicals capable of reacting with a materialnormally present in the board to produce a darker shade or a diierentcolor than the usual color of the board. In this aspect, the inventiondepends in part upon the fact that leather-containing materials normallycontain various organic compounds such as tannins, proteins, glucose,etc. capable of reacting with a wide range of chemicals to produceshades or hues different from the usual color of leatherboard.Lea-therboard also appears to contain sulphur in sufficientconcentration to produce a 40 dark coloration with various chemicals.Leatherboard made in whole or in part from chrometanned leather scrap asdistinguished from vegetable tanned leather scrap contains chromiumoxide as well as various other chemicals so that additional Vchemicalsmay be used for spraying various chemicals may be introduced intoleatherboard some time during its fabrication or subsequently theretowhich are capable of reacting with a wide range of chemicals to producedeeper shades or different colors than the usual color of leatherboard.

In another of its aspects, the method of the invention consists inintermittently spraying leatherboard as it is being built up on the wetv machine with two or more chemicals which are capable of reactingwithin the material to produce lighter shades or hues than the usualcolor of leatherboard.

In another aspect, the method of the invention consists inintermittently spraying or otherwise intermittently treating theleatherboard as itis being built up on the wet machine with either oneor a plurality of chemicals to ultimately produce a different color orcolors in the cross- Fig. 1 is a view in perspective of a sheet of boardtreated so that one outer cross-sectional zone is darker or of adifferent color than the rest of the material;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a heel lift dinked out of the materialof Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view in perspective of a sheet of board treated so that bothouter cross-sectional zones are darker or of different color than thecentral zone;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a heel lift dinked out of the materialof Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a heel lift made from a sheet ofleatherboard which has been processed so that its central zone is darkeror of a different color than the rest of the material;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a sheet or slab of leatherboard ofgreater thickness than those in the preceding figures and having aplurality of alternating dark colored and lighter colored zones;

Fig. 'I is an elevation of a heel which may have been built up of theheel lifts of Figs. 2, 4 or 5 or from heel lifts dinked out of the boardshown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of what I shall refer to as the wet machinewith parts broken away and shown in section; and

Fig. 9 is an enlarged plan view of the suction box looking in thedirection of the arrows 9 9 in Fig. 8.

The leatherboard stock is made in the usual manner in the beater (notshown) and is thence conducted to a storage tank or chest (not shown)from whence it is conducted to the vat I0 in which the cylinder mold I Iis rotatably mounted. The wet machine as referred to in thisspecification and the claims comprises the cylinder mold II, the endlessfelt belt l2, the various car rier rolls I3, the couch roll I4, thebottom press roll I5 and the top press roll IB.

In normal operation the cylinder mold is ro- -tated in the direction ofthe arrow and continuously picks up a thin web of leatherboard stock onits outer surface, and this web is continuously transferred to thesurface of the moving felt belt and carried by it between the top and ibottom press rolls I5 and IG, where water is squeezed from the web anddeposited in the trough I 1. At this stage the top press roll I8continuously picks up the thin web of leather-- board from the feltuntil the leatherboard stock wound upon said roll has been built up tothe required thickness, when the cylindrical sheet of leatherboardretained on the roll is cut longitudinally to form a rectangular sheetwhich is deposited upon the table I8 and then conveyed to the dryer. Thetop press roll then again picks up another leatherboard web from thefelt to thus build up the next leatherboard sheet.

In accordance with one embodiment of my invention, I provide one or moresprays I9 or 20 which are adapted to spray one or more chemicals uponcertain selected layers of leatherboard as they are being built up onthe wet machine to thus provide cross-sectional zones of contrastingcolor in each completed sheet of leatherboard.

The spray or sprays may be located as at I9 or as at 20, or in any otherconvenient place so that each may be operated to spray a given length ofthe leatherboard web after it leaves the level of the leatherboardstock'in the vat I0.

If the sprays are located between the vat and the press rolls I and I6,I prefer to use a suction box 2l to remove some of the water from theleatherboard web before it is sprayed with the chemical. The use of asuction box accomplishes at least two functions; it reduces the loss ofthe chemical or chemicals subsequently sprayed upon the leatherboard,and it also avoids crushing of the leatherboard when the liquids aresqueezed out between the top and bottom press rolls. II a suction box isnot used and the sprays are. located at I9, and if the -chemicals addedto the leatherboard web by the sprays increase the liquid contentthereof too much, this greater quantity of liquid when squeezed outbetween top and bottom rolls will disrupt or crush the structure of theleatherboard. When the sprays are located at the use ofa suction box maybe unnecessary, since in such arrangement most ofA the liquid is removedby the top and bottom rolls before the sprayed chemical reaches theleatherboard.

I have found that by using about ve and onehalf inches of vacuum on thesuction box water is sucked from the thin leatherboard web through theholes 22 in the top of the suction box, thus transforming the glisteningleatherboard web t-o a dull web which is then in satisfactory conditionfor the subsequent spraying operation.

To produce some variegated cross-sectional ef- Y fects the spray of onechemical is turned on while colored thicknesses of the board are beingbuilt up and shut off as normal colored layers are being built up. Ifthe spray is shut ofi as the central zone or core of the board is beingbuilt up, the product has a normal colored central zone and outer zonesof the color imparted by the chemical which is being sprayed. (See Fig.3.) The op- `posite result` (see Fig. 5) can be produced by shutting thespray ofi as the outer layers or thicknesses are being fabricated andturning it on as the central zone is being built up. I may produce aboard having as many alternate layers of various colors as may bedesired. It should be noted at this point that generally speaking agreater concentration of chemical is necessary when the chemical isapplied as a spray on the wet machine than when the fabricatedfboard isimmersed in the chemical solution or sprayed therewith. The reason isthat the board as it 'is being built up on the machine contains asubstantial amount of water whichl serves to dilute the chemical.

Instead of spraying the material as it is being built up on the wetmachine with a chemical to color certain of its zones, I may spray thematerial intermittently with a bleaching agent to produce a variegatedcolor effect. Thus the spray is turned on while desired light coloredthicknesses of board are being built up and shut of! as layers 'ofordinary leatherboard are being built up. If the spray is shut oi as thecentral zone or core of the board is being built up, the product issimilar to that produced by immersing the fabricated board in ableaching solution for an insucient time to secure complete penetration,i..e., the board will have a dark or dull central zone 'and lighterouter zones. The opposite resuit can be produced by shutting the sprayof! only as the outer layers are being fabricated. I

may produce a board having as many alternate layers of bleached andunbleached board as may be desired.

Additional pleasing variegated effects can be produced by sprayingcertain layers of the board as it is being built up on the wet machinewith bleaching agents and certain other layers with fone or morechemicals tending to either color or darken the layers. It desiredcertain of the layers may be left untreated so that the finished boardhas zones of several different shades. Likewise greater intensities ofbleaching, coloring or darkening eiects can be produced in a singlecross-section of board by spraying the different layers with differentconcentrations of chemicals or bleaching agents.

In Fig. 6 is illustrated a slab of leatherboard which was built up onthe wet machine with a plurality of alternating darker and lightercrosssectional zones. The lighter zones may be produced by the use ofbleaching agents, in which case the zones which appear dark may be'treated with a darkening chemical, a coloring chemical, or leftuntreated. A variation consists in leaving untreated the zones which areto appear light and in treating the other zones with a darkening orcoloring chemical. The slab shown in Fig. 6 is as thick as severalconventional lifts so that its employment in the building of heelsresults in considerable economy.

To produce a bleached cross-sectional zone the spray is supplied with asolution of any bleaching agent for leatherboard such as those disclosedin my Patent No. 1,975,556. A

To produce a darkened or colored cross-scctional zone the spray may besupplied with any l one or more of a large group of chemicals. Forexample, aniline dyes, such as -Azo Yellow, Acid Orange, Nigrosine(black) Chrysoidine (brown) may be used or emulsied pigment suspensionsmay be used.

Also solutions of chemicals which react with normal constituents of theleatherboard stock may be used, such as ferric chloride, ferricsulphate, lead acetate, sodium iodate, potassium permanganate, potassiumbichromate, or ammoniacal solutions of silver nitrate. In the use of asolution of ferric chloride, for example, the iron in the solutionreacts with the tannic acid in the leatherboard to produce theA verydark color of a concentrated iron tannate ink. In the use of leadacetate this chemical apparently reacts with sulphur which is normallypresent in the leatherboard to produce dark colored lead sulphide.

Alsov a dischargeable dye, such as Acid Orange may be incorporated inthe leatherboard stock in the beater and the web may be sprayed with achemical known in the trade as a discharge, for example, sodiumhydrosulphite or stannous chloride, to thus localize the dye in cer-'tain localities of the leatherboard.

Also two or more chemicals which are adapted to react in theleatherboard to form colored compounds therein may be used. One of thechemicals may be introduced into Kthe leatherboard stock in the beaterand another sprayed on a selected cross-sectional zone or zones on thewet machine, thus causing the reaction to take place only in the zonessprayed. Or the reacting chem'l icals may both be sprayed upon aselected crosssectional' zone or zones on the wet machine, thus coloringonly that zone. Or one of the chemicals:y

may be sprayed on a selected cross-sectional zone on the wet machine andanother reacting chemical applied to the board by dipping after theboard has been dried, thus coloring only that zone or zones which havebeen previously sprayed on the wet machine. For example the use first ofbarium chloride and then of potassium chromate will cause the formationof the yellow barium chromate pigment.

Although in the foregoing specification I have described the use ofsprays for applying the chemicals to the desired length of leatherboardweb, it will be apparent to those skilled in this art that the chemicalsfor changing the normal color of' the leatherboard stock may be appliedto any given length of the web on the wet machine by the use of variousother means.` For example, similarly located transfer rolls may be usedinstead of sprays. 'I'hus a felt covered transfer roll treated with thechemical may be rotated in contact with one surface of the web tothereby transfer the chemical to the web, and said roll may be mountedfor movement out of contact with the web when untreated lengths thereofare being built up.

Another method of applying chemical to a given length of web is to treata given length of the felt belt l2 therewith prior to the point where itpicks up the leatherboard web from the cylinder mold Il, the chemicalbeing transferred from belt to web. The chemical may be applied to agiven length of belt by the use of a spray, transfer roll, passing thebelt directly through a tank containing the chemical, or in any othersuitable manner. In the use of this method it is advisable to thoroughlywash retained chemical from the belt before it contacts portions of theweb which are to be left untreated, for otherwise chemical retained inthe belt may discolor such portions of the web. This washing may beaccomplished by the use of conventional showers and whippers (not shown)located between the bottom press roll I5 and the point where thechemical is applied to the belt.

Wherever in this specification or in the\ appended claims, I refer to acolor or colors differing from the normal color of the leatherboard orfrom the color imparted by leatherboard stock I intend to include anydarker or lighter hue of the color imparted by the leatherboard stock asWell as bleached leatherboard and white or black. Thus a color differingfrom the color imparted by the leatherboard stock may be produced by theuse on the wet machine of bleaches, dyes or any of the other chemicalsor combinations of chemicals disclosed in this specification to producea white, black, bleached, or colored or shaded zone or zones inleatherboard of a color or colors, shade or shades, hue or huesdiffering from the color or colors, shade or shades, hue or hues whicheach of said zones would have if they had not thus been treated on thewet machine.

It is understood that the foregoing disclosure is illustrative of myinvention and that many chemicals other than those disclosed may be usedto impart color differing from the normal color of the leatherboardWithout departing from the scope of the claims. It is also to beunderstood that my invention is not dependent upon any explanations ortheories which I have set forth as descriptive of the actions involved,nor dependent upon the soundness or accuracy of any theoreticalstatements so advanced.

I claim:

1. The method of making sheet leatherboard having a varicolored crosssection and useful in the manufacture of heel lifts, which comprises;forming a web from a furnish of fibrous material on a wet machine,advancing said web and intermittently spraying the web as it is beingbuilt up on a roll of the wet machine with a substance which changes thecolor of the web, and thereby forming a definite color stripe on theedge face of the sheet accumulating on the roll.

2. The method of making sheet leatherboard having a varicolored crosssection and useful in the manufacture of heel lifts, which comprises;forming a web from a furnish of fibrous material on a wet machine,advancing said web and intermittently treating the web as it is beingbuilt up on a roll of the wet machine with a substance which changes thecolor of the web, and thereby forming a definite color stripe on theedge face of the sheet accumulating on the roll.

3. The method of making sheet leatherboard having an edge faceexhibiting stripes of color substantially parallel to its fiat faces anduseful in the manufacture of heel lifts, which comprises; forming a webof fibrous material on a wet machine, advancing said Web to be wound ona roll of the wet machine and treating spaced longitudinal portions ofthe running web throughout the width thereof with a substance whichchanges the color thereof in contrast to that of the untreatedintervening portions, the length of each of said treated portions beingsuch as to provide a deflnite color stripe on the 'edge face of thesheet accumulating on the roll.

4. The method of making sheet leatherboard having an edge faceexhibiting stripes of color substantially parallel to its fiat faces anduseful in the manufacture of heel lifts, which comprises; forming a webof fibrous material on a wet machine, advancing said web to be wound ona roll of the wet machine and spraying spaced longitudinal portions ofthe running web throughout the width thereof with a substance whichchanges the color thereof in contrast to that of the unsprayedintervening portions, the length of each of said sprayed portions beingsuch as to provide a deflnite color stripe on the edge face of the sheetaccumulating on the roll.

5. 'I'he method of making sheet leatherboard having a varicolored crosssection and having at least one cross-sectional zone of a colordifferent from the color imparted by the leatherboard stock, whichmethod comprises; forming a web from a furnish of leatherboard stock ona wet machine, winding the web upon a roll of the wet machine to buildup a sheet of the desired thickness, and selectively treating theportion of the web which is to form said different coloredcross-sectional zone, While said portion of the web is on the wetmachine, with a substance which imparts to said portion of the web acolor different from the color imparted by the leatherboard stock,

6. The method of making sheet leatherboard having a varicolored crosssection and having at least one cross-sectional zone of a colordifferent from the colorI imparted by the leatherboard stcck, whichmethod comprises; forming a web from a furnish of leatherboard stock ona Wet machine, winding the web upon a roll of the wet machine to buildup a sheet of the desired thickness, and selectively spraying theportion of the web which is to form said different colored cross.sectional zone, while said portion of the web is on the wet machine,with a substance which imparts to said portion of the web a colordifferent from the color imparted by the leatherboard stock.

7. The method of making sheet leatherboard having a varicolored crosssection and having at least one bleached cross-'sectional zone, whichmethod comprises; forming a web from a furnish of leatherboard stock ona wet machine, winding the web upon a roll of the wet machine to buildup a sheet of the desired thickness, and selectively treating theportion of the web which is to form said bleached cross-sectional zone.while said portion of the web is on the wet machine, with a bleachingagent which bleaches said -portion of the web.

8. The method of making sheetleatherboard having -a varicolored crosssection and having its 'outer cross-sectional zones of a color impartedby the leatherboard stock and a central cross-sectional zone ofdifferent color, which method comprises; forming a web from a furnishofleatherboard stock on a wet machine, winding the web upon a roll of`the'wet machine to build up a sheet of the desired thickness, andselectively treating the portion of the web which is to form saidcentral cross-sectional zone, while said portion of the web is on thewet machine, with a substance which imparts to said portion of the web acolor different from the color imparted by the leatherboard stock.

9. The method of making sheet leatherboard havingA a varicolored crosssection and having its outer cross-sectional zones of a color impartedby the leatherboard stock and a'central crosssectional zone of differentcolor, which method comprises; forming a web from a furnish ofleatherboard stock on a wet machine, winding the web upon a roll of thewet machine to build up a sheet of the desired thickness, andselectively spraying the portion of the web which is to form saidcentral cross-sectional zone, while said portion of the web is on thewet machine, with a substance which imparts to said portion of the web acolor diii'erent from the color imparted by the leatherboard stock.

10. The method of making sheet leatherboard having a varicolored crosssection and having its outer cross-sectional -zones of a color impartedby the leatherboard stock and a bleached central cross-sectional zone,which method comprises; forming a web from a furnish of leatherboardstock on a wet machine, winding the web upon a roll of the wet machineto build up a sheet of the desired thickness, and selectively treatingthe portion of the web which is to form said central cross-sectionalzone, while said portion of the web is on the Wet machine, with ableachingb agent which bleaches said portion of the we 11. The method ofmaking sheet leatherboard having a varicolored cross section and havinga central cross-sectional zone of a color imparted by the leatherboardstock andouter cross-sectional zones of a diierent color, which methodcomprises; forming a web from a furnish of leatherboard stock on a wetmachine, winding the web upon a roll of the wet machine to build up asheetof the desired thickness, and selectively treating the portions ofthe web which are to form said outer cross-sectional zones, whilesaidportions of the web are on the wet machine, with V--a substance whichimparts to said portions of the web a color dierent from the colorimparted by the leatherboard stock.

'12. The method of makingsheet leatherboard of the web a color diierentfrom the color imparted by the leatherboard stock.

13. The method of making sheet leatherboard having a varicolored crosssection and having a central cross-sectional zone of a color imparted bythe leatherboard stock and bleached outer cross-sectional zones, whichmethod comprises; forming a web of leatherboard stock on a wet machine,winding the web upon a roll of the wet machine to build up a sheet ofthe desired thickness, and selectively treating the portions of the webwhich are to form said bleached outer crosssectional zones, while saidportions of the web are on the wet machine, with a bleaching agent whichbleaches said portions of the web.

14. The method of making sheet leatherboard having a varicoloredcrosssection andhaving at least two cross-sectional zones of colorsdiiering from each other and from the color imparted by the leatherboardstock, which method comprises: forming a web from a furnish ofleatherboard stock on a wet machine, winding the web upon a roll of thewet machine to build up a sheet of the desired thickness, selectivelytreating the portion of the web which is to form one of said differentcolored cross-sectional zones, while said portion of the web is on thewet machine, with a substance which imparts to said portion of the web acolor different from the color imparted by the leatherboard stock, andsubsequently selectively treating the portion of the web which is toform another of said diierent colored cross-sectional zones, while saidlatter portion of the web is on the wet machine, with a substance whichimparts to said portion of the web a color different from the colorimparted to the aforesaid portion of the web and different from thecolor imparted by the leatherboard stock.

15. The method of making sheet leatherboard having a varicolored crosssection and having at least two cross-sectional zones of colorsdiffering from each other and from the color imparted by theleatherboard stock, which method comprises; forming a web from a furnishof leatherboard stock on a wet machine, winding the web upon a l roll ofthe wet machine to build up a sheet of the desired thickness,selectively spraying the portion. of the web which is to form one ofsaid different colored cross-sectional zones, while said portion of theweb is on the wet machine, with a. substance which imparts to saidportion of the web a color different from the color imparted by theleatherboard stock, and subsequently selectively spraying the portion ofthe web which is to form f another of said diierent coloredcross-sectional zones, while said latter portion of the web is on thewet machine, with a substance which imparts to said portion of the web acolor dierent from the color imparted to the aforesaid portion of theweb and different from the 'color imparted by the leatherboard stock.

HERMAN W. RICHTER.

